Lightweight Woven Hexagonal Gabion Box Galfan Wire Material Bridge Protection

Hexagonal Woven Wire Mesh Gabion Box / woven gabion stability solutions

Hexagonal woven mesh gabions are manufactured from a mesh that has a hexagonal opening which is formed by twisting pairs of wire together with one and a half turns (sometimes referred to as triple or double twist). This type of mesh production is continuous. To form panels, the mesh is guillotined across the weave and the cut ends of the wire are wrapped around a heavier wire to form a selvedge end.

This type of mesh is flexible as it can articulate about the twists. It is normally manufactured from a 2.7mm wire diameter for gabions or 2.0mm wire diameter for mattresses. Wire coatings are either galvanised or Galfan coated. For more aggressive environments, an additional organic polymer powder (PVC) coating should be applied to a Galfan coated base wire.

Applications:

Control and guide of water or flood
Flood bank or guiding bank
Prevention of rock breaking
Water and soil protection
Bridge protection
Strengthening structure of soil
Protection engineering of seaside area
Seaport engineering
Isolation walls
Protection of road

Advantage:

Flexibility: Flexibility is an important benefit of any gabion structure. The double-twist hexagonal mesh construction permits it to tolerate differential settlement without fracture. This property is especially important when a structure is on unstable soil conditions or in areas where scour from wave action or currents can undermine the toe of the structure and cause structural settlement.

Durability: Gabions support plant growth which provides a live coating for the wire mesh and stones, adding to their durability. Generally, the wire mesh is needed for the first few years of the structure’s life; later the void between the stones is filled with soil, silt, and plant roots which act as a bonding agent for the stones.

Strength: Steel wire hexagonal mesh has strength and flexibility to withstand forces generated by water and earth masses, and the pervious nature of the gabion allows it to absorb and dissipate much of that energy. This is evident on coast protection installations where gabion structures remain effective long after a massive rigid structure fails. Additionally, the double twisted hexagonal mesh won’t unravel if cut.

Permeability: Gabion walls are previous to water and stabilize slopes by the combined action of draining and retaining, precluding the development of hydrostatic pressure behind the gabion wall. Drainage is accomplished by gravity, as well as evaporation as the porous structure permits air circulation through it. As plant growth develops within the structure, the process of transpiration assists in removing moisture from the backfill – a much more efficient system than weep holes in standard masonry walls.

Low cost: Gabion systems are more economical than rigid or semi-rigid structures for the following reasons:

It requires little maintenance, Its installations does not require skilled labor and stone fill is available on site or from nearby quarries, It requires little or no foundation preparation, as the surface needs to be only reasonably level and smooth. Gabions are porous, requiring no costly drainage provision

Ecology: Gabions is an environmentally sensitive solution to slope stabilization. It has already been mentioned that stone fill is done with natural stones making the gabions, naturally porous allowing interaction between the land and the water table and also persuades deposition of soil in the smaller voids between the stone fill during drainage that again promote vegetation growth.

Aesthetics: Gabions supporting vegetation has already been discussed; in some case the vegetation growth is so intense, making the gabion structure invisible, and pleasant to look at. Again if additional effort is given during construction, the gabion can create really pleasing structure with or without vegetation. Unlike other types of materials such a modular block walls the gabion stones do not discolor due to drainage.